Neil Young Slams Trump Over ‘Rockin’ in the Free World’ Again

Neil Young once again took a swing at Donald Trump for using “Rockin’ in the Free World” at political events, three years after he’d agreed to stop doing so.

Young had criticized Trump for playing the song during his 2015 presidential campaign, saying he was actually a supporter of Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders. Two days later, the Trump campaign said, “We will respect [Young’s] wish and not use it because it’s the right thing to do.”

Responding to Trump’s continued use of the 1989 classic, Young wrote on his website, “DT does not have my permission to use the song ‘Rockin’ in the Free World’ at his appearances. Legally, he has the right to, however, it goes against my wishes. I made this perfectly clear after he played it in a media moment to announce his candidacy. I asked him then, in a widely shared public letter to cease and desist.

“However, he chose not to listen to my request, just as he chooses not to listen to the many American voices who ask him to stop his constant lies, to stop his petty, nasty name calling and bullying, to stop pushing his dangerous, vilifying and hateful rhetoric.”

Young added that “this man does not represent the character of the people in the U.S.A. that I have come to know and love.”

Earlier this week, Guns N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose issued a similar statement about Trump’s use of “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” saying his band had “formally requested” that the president stop playing it.

“Unfortunately, the Trump campaign is using loopholes in the various venues’ blanket performance licenses which were not intended for such craven political purposes, without the songwriters’ consent," he explained, noting that he "liked the irony of Trump supporters listening to a bunch of anti-Trump music at his rallies," though he accepted most of them wouldn't care.

Both Rose and Young had encouraged their fans to vote in yesterday’s midterm elections, in which the Democrats took control of the House of Representatives while the Republicans retained the Senate.